Latest news with #Instacar
GSM Arena
16-05-2025
- Business
- GSM Arena
Apple now showing warnings on EU App Store apps with alternative payment options
The European Commission (EC) found Apple in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) over its anti-competitive App Store practices last month. One of the EC's main gripes concerned Apple's anti-steering policies, which prevented users from accessing alternative payment distribution channels. While Apple is appealing the €500 million fine, users across the European Union have noticed that Apple is now placing warning signs next to some apps that offer third-party payment options outside the App Store. One example is Instacar - a Hungarian app that shows vehicle data history. The app does not use Apple's App Store for in-app payments and it now has a disclaimer bubble which informs users that 'This app does not support the App Store's private and secure payment system. It uses external purchases.' The message is accompanied by a red warning sign, which makes the app seem untrustworthy. The disclaimer prompt links to a dedicated page where Apple explains the flaws of alternative payment systems. While some third-party payment systems may lack the security standards of the App Store, most of the big payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, and Square have proven to be just as reliable. If anything, the new security prompt seems like a way for Apple to purposefully make apps that don't use its payment processor look unsecure. It will be interesting to see what the EC has to say about this development. Via
Phone Arena
15-05-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
Apple tries to scare some App Store users away from third-party payment platforms
In the EU, Apple is being forced to allow developers to send App Store customers to third-party payment platforms to pay for paid apps and in-app purchases. This allows the developer to bypass Apple's In-app purchases payment platform which charges them a commission of 15%-30% of the value of the transaction. Considering that Apple's Services unit, which includes App Store revenue, nearly hit $100 billion during fiscal 2024, the tech giant is not letting this happen without putting up a fight. The EU's Digital Markets Act, the legislation that forced Apple to allow developers to show alternate payment platforms, has proven to be a tough opponent for the tech giant. As a result, Apple has decided to shake up App Store users by throwing a little scare into their lives. A developer named Viktor Maric tweeted a screenshot of the App Store listing for a popular business app in Hungary called Instacar. At the top of the listing was a box from Apple containing a warning. The warning says, "This app does not support the App Store's private and secure payment system. It uses external purchases." The use of the orange triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle indicates that Apple consider this to be a critical alert. The triangle is supposed to be used only in the most serious of situations when a specific action could lead to a serious consequence such as data loss. Apple adds scary warning to an app in the Hungarian App Store. Image credit-X It seems that Apple's use of this warning is being done to protect its financial well-being. By using this type of scare tactic, Apple could be in violation of the DMA, which does not allow the use of so-called scare screens. Apple's goal is to frighten App Store customers away from using third-party payment platforms and use Apple's in-app purchases payment platform instead so that it can collect the so-called Apple Tax from developers. If you read the warning, Apple is trying to get consumers to believe that other payment platforms are not "private and secure." Apple is amping up the fear factor here since there are some well-known payment platforms like PayPal, Square, and Stripe that are secure. The problem is that you might not know whether the platform a developer uses for in-app payments is one of the secure ones. While Apple should make its message less scary, and could be forced to do so thanks to the DMA, the truth is that developers also should reveal in advance which third-party payment platforms they use. The EU is in favor of transparency and rightfully so. But developers should not be allowed to be less transparent than Apple which, ironically, supports Apple's use of its scare screen.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Apple Issues New App Store Warning—Here's What It Means
Apple has started placing warnings on its App Store, seemingly to try to persuade people not to use ... More iOS apps that support alternative payment options. Apple has started placing warnings on its App Store, seemingly to try to persuade people not to use iOS apps that support alternative payment options. First seen by Daring Fireball's John Gruber and reported by esteemed tech site The Verge, Apples' warning comes in the form of an exclamation point. The notice reads: 'This app does not support the App Store's private and secure payment system. It uses external purchases.' Gruber saw the new Apple warning on a Hungarian app that checks the mileage and value of used cars, called Instacar. As The Verge points out, the app isn't available in the U.S.—but it is among the top five apps in the Business category on the EU App Store and has thousands of positive reviews. Taking this into account, Apple's warning seems odd. The only gripe the iPhone maker seems to have with Instacar is that it uses an external payment system. Apple explains its warning further in a support document: 'Apps that use alternative payment options do not use the App Store's payment system for digital goods and services. To make a purchase in these apps, you will provide information and confirm your payment directly with the developer, either within the app or on a website linked from the app. 'If you create or manage your account on that website, or make any purchases using the developer's payment system, you will not be using the App Store's private and secure payment system for digital goods and services. Only purchases made through the App Store's In-App Purchase system are secured by Apple.' When you create an account on a developer's external website, you may have to provide personal information, including payment information, directly to the developer or third party partners, Apple adds. It warns that you will be trusting the developer, as well as any partners and payment providers they work with, to handle your information based on their privacy and security controls. 'Apple is not responsible for the privacy or security of transaction made with this developer and cannot verify any pricing or promotions that are offered,' the iPhone maker adds. I asked Apple for a comment on this article and will update it if the iPhone maker responds. It comes as Apple gets in hot water with the European Commission for its approach to alternative app stores following the Digital Markets Act. The EC told the iPhone maker its complex fee system and overly strict eligibility requirements disincentivises developers. So there you have it, like it or not, the Apple App Store warning is there for a reason, and it's up to you to make the choice based on what the iPhone makers says and your own common sense.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Why some Apple users are seeing 'warning message' on App Store
Apple is displaying prominent warning messages on App Store listings of apps that don't utilise the tech giant's own payment system. This message is being shown to users in the European Union (EU). These warnings, featuring a red exclamation mark icon, appear alongside messages cautioning users about the potential risks of using third-party payment alternatives. The Verge (via Daring Fireball) highlighted the update, noting a warning on the App Store listing for Instacar, a popular Hungarian app for used car valuation. The message alerts users that Instacar does not use Apple's 'private and secure payment system.' Instacar is said to be a highly-rated and widely used app in Hungary, and it appears to be flagged solely due to its use of an external payment system, the report noted. Apple's warning suggests that by using such apps, users might be exposing themselves to risks as App Store features like purchase history, Family Sharing, and unified subscription management won't apply to these transactions. What Apple support page says about third-party payments Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Her body cannot endure this level of pain; please help her. Donate For Health Learn More Undo Apple's linked support page elaborates on these concerns, stating that users creating accounts on external websites may have to directly provide personal and payment information to the developer and their partners. The company emphasizes that users would then be trusting these third parties to handle their data according to their own security and privacy measures. 'When you create an account on a developer's external website, you may have to provide personal information, including payment information, directly to the developer or third-party partners. You will be trusting the developer, as well as any partners and payment providers they work with, to handle your information based on their privacy and security controls,' Apple support page says. This move by Apple comes at a time when the company is already facing pressure from EU regulators regarding its practices around alternative app marketplaces. In April, the European Commission issued preliminary findings that Apple was making the installation of these marketplaces "overly burdensome and confusing" through the use of multiple warning screens.
The Verge
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Apple is placing warnings on EU apps that don't use App Store payments
Apple is trying to dissuade Europeans from using iOS apps that support alternative payment options by making them look scary. Daring Fireball 's John Gruber spotted that a red exclamation mark icon is being prominently displayed on the App Store listing for Instacar, alongside a message warning users that it doesn't use Apple's 'private and secure payment system.' Instacar, a three-year-old Hungarian app for checking the mileage and value of used cars, isn't available on the US App Store. But in Hungary, in the EU, it's listed as one of the top five apps in the Business category, with thousands of positive reviews — not a typical service that would warrant heightened caution. The only gripe that Apple seemingly has is that Instacar uses an external payment system, and that App Store payment features like purchase history, Family Sharing, and unified subscription management won't be available on such purchases. 'When you create an account on a developer's external website, you may have to provide personal information, including payment information, directly to the developer or third-party partners,' Apple says in a support page linked from its warning message. 'You will be trusting the developer, as well as any partners and payment providers they work with, to handle your information based on their privacy and security controls.' Apple is already facing heat in the EU for its practices around scare tactics. In April, the European Commission issued preliminary findings that Apple 'makes it overly burdensome and confusing' for users to install alternative app marketplaces, a process that involves clicking through several scare sheets that ask users to confirm if they want to proceed. This App Store warning message has also appeared in the wake of the recent Epic vs Apple ruling that bans Apple from restricting how developers can link to alternative purchase systems. A notable requirement implemented to address Apple's scare tactics was that the company cannot interfere with consumers choosing to leave an app with anything beyond 'a neutral message' about being directed to a third-party site, though that injunction doesn't apply outside of the US.
